Hi all. I am in Afghanistan with the US Army and have come into possession of one of the many Lee-Enfields floating around this country from God knows where or when. I know almost nothing about Enfields (my historic weapons knowledge is mostly limited to US arms) and need a little help.
In the little bit of reading I've done, I've learned a little and developed the questions below:
-The rifle appears to be in the No. 4 Mk 2 configuration. The side of the receiver is stamped Mk 1 (you can just barely make it out) so maybe it's one that was updated/converted. The stamp is very, very light and you can just barely make out the "1". Would it be marked as a "Mk 1/2" that maybe I can't quite make out, or did they not re-stamp the converted rifles?
-There is another stamp in front (towards the barrel) of where the "No 4 Mk 1" mentioned above is on the left side of the reciever. It is completely unreadable as the stamp is too light. What should be here?]
Attachment 46360
^Left Side Reciever Markings
-I understand that Enfield serial numbers generally fit the format of one letter and five numbers (A12345). Mine shows a serial number of three letters and four numbers (FDM2022). This number is shown and matches on the receiver band (if that is the right term), the bolt knob, the magazine floorplate, and the barrel. I have not yet been able to find either that alpha-numeric format nor that specific prefix (FDM) on any of the SN lists I've seen. Can anyone shed some light?
Attachment 46358
^Bolt Knob SN
Attachment 46357
^Barrel SN
-There is another number stamped below the serial number that is completely unreadable. They are really just shapes. Is it likely they are some sort of arabic characters that were added after it made it's way to this part of the world?. There is also a backwards "K" with a little squiggle next to it and a number "5" below it. I don't even know where to begin with these.
Attachment 46359
^Reciever Band Left Side
-The barrel is marked with "BE29" or "BB29" (can't tell) and the crown stamp. There is also what looks like might be an inspector mark with "B27" in a circle. There are a few other stamps that you can see in the photo (when I get it up), including what might be another smaller crown with some letters/numbers and two arrow looking things "^^".
Attachment 46356
^Barrel Markings
-The rifle is stamped "DP" for Drill Purpose all over, but appears to be functional.
-The forearm does not have an Ishapor screw. Does this mean it was not produced in India and found it's way to Afghanistan via some other means?
I will try to get some photos up shortly to help show all this. Given this info, what conclusions can be drawn about where the rifle was produced, what year it was produced, and how a "drill purpose" rifle might have wound up in use on the current Afghan battlefield? (Granted, I know that last part will be 98% speculation, as these things were sent all over the globe.)
Thanks!Information
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